Valve disinfecting method

ABSTRACT

A method of performing a cleaning cycle for a water supply system having a valve. The method includes determining whether the cleaning cycle is necessary in a central controller located remotely from the water supply system; and when cleaning is necessary, sending a signal from the central controller to a local controller located within the water supply system to activate a heating element within the water supply system to heat an internal waterway of the water supply system to a temperature configured to clean the internal waterway.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/797,416, filed on Mar. 12, 2013, which is a Continuation ofU.S. patent Ser. No. 13/796,337, filed Mar. 12, 2013, which claims thebenefit of and priority to United Kingdom Patent Application No.1211098.7, filed Jun. 22, 2012, and United Kingdom Patent ApplicationNo. 1211101.9, filed Jun. 22, 2012. The entire disclosures of each ofthe foregoing applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates to plumbing fittings and fixtures andwater supply systems and installations for washing, showering, bathingand the like that employ such plumbing fittings and fixtures. Theconcepts disclosed herein have particular, but not exclusive,application to mixer valves (alternatively referred to as “mixingvalves”), especially thermostatic mixer valves. More particularly, thepresent application relates to an arrangement for thermally disinfectingmixer valves.

Mixer valves that dispense blended fluids such as water (e.g., hot andcold supplies, mixing to a typical washing/showering temperature ofaround 40° C.) may be prone to harboring micro-organisms. Suchmicro-organisms can enter the valves either through the supply water orthrough splash back into the spout outlet. This problem is particularlyproblematic since micro-organisms are particularly prone toproliferation within a temperature range of 35 to 45° C. The presence ofmicro-organisms in waterways used for washing/showering can give rise tohealth risks where such micro-organisms may be contained in waterdischarged from the mixer valve. For example, when washing/showering,micro-organisms present in the water may enter the body through cuts andabrasions in the skin or may be inhaled.

These problems can be exacerbated by other factors, including the use invalve components of certain polymers or elastomers that provide asuitable habitat for sustaining micro-organisms in a living state and/orthat encourage micro-organism growth and development, the existence ofstagnant areas within the valve where water can be trapped in lowcirculation areas, high volumes of residual water contained within thevalve once shut off, and large wetted areas within the valve, amongothers.

It is known to employ a thermal disinfection routine in which hot wateris used to kill/remove micro-organisms in waterways used forwashing/showering. Such disinfection routines involve flushing thewaterways with water at an elevated temperature, typically at least 60°C., for a time sufficient to kill or remove micro-organisms from thevalve.

The use of such hot water disinfecting/cleaning routines in waterwaysused for washing/showering can give rise to other issues, however. Forexample, in the event that a user comes into contact with the hot waterbeing discharged, the user may suffer scalding of the exposed skin orphysical discomfort from the high temperature water. Another issuerelates to the cost and other difficulties associated with providing andmaintaining high (above 60° C.) hot water temperatures for a sustainedperiod of time sufficient to perform the cleaning routine. Such hotwater may also undesirably generate excessive amounts of steam in thesurrounding area, and the water flow/water noise may disturb roomoccupants (e.g., in hospital wards or other areas where people may bepresent in the vicinity of the waterways). Yet another issue relates tothe fact that only areas of the waterway that are in contact with thehot water supply may be sufficiently cleaned or disinfected, with aresult that other areas of the waterway that are only in contact withcold water may not be cleaned adequately.

It would be advantageous to provide an improved valve and/or cleaningmethod to address one or more of the aforementioned challenges.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment relates to a method of disinfecting a valveconfigured for use as part of a water delivery system that includesactivating a heating element that is configured to heat a body of thevalve to a temperature sufficient to kill organisms that may be presenton internal surfaces of the valve, wherein the heating element and thevalve are configured to be provided within the water delivery system.

Another exemplary embodiment relates to method of removing organismsfrom a mixing valve that is included within a plumbing fixture, themethod comprising:

operating a heating element extending through a portion of the mixingvalve such that a temperature of a water contacting surface within themixing valve reaches a temperature greater than approximately 60 degreesCelsius.

Another exemplary embodiment relates to a cleaning routine for aplumbing fixture, the cleaning routine comprising:

-   -   raising the temperature of a water contacting surface within the        plumbing fixture to a temperature sufficient to kill organisms        on the water contacting surface using an electric heater        provided within the plumbing fixture;        wherein the plumbing fixture is selected from the group        consisting of a faucet, a shower head, and a plumbing fitting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features, benefits and advantages of the invention will be morereadily understood from the following description of an exemplaryembodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mixer valve according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the mixer valve shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a plumbing fixture incorporating the mixervalve shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of another plumbing fixture incorporating themixer valve shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a mixervalve;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a showerhead according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a cutaway perspective view of the showerhead shown in FIG. 6,illustrating the inclusion of a mixer valve having a heating element;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a faucet according to an exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 9 is a cutaway perspective view of the faucet shown in FIG. 8,illustrating the inclusion of a mixer valve having a heating element;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a system including a controller forcontrolling a plurality of valves according to an exemplary embodiment;and

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating steps in a method for performinga cleaning routine for valves according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an exemplary embodiment, a plumbing fitting, valve (e.g., aflow control valve, a mixer valve, etc.), and/or a plumbing fixtureassociated with the plumbing fitting and/or valve include an electricalheating device for heating thermally-conductive water contact partsthereof. Each of these items include internal passages (e.g., waterways)that include walls or surfaces that may harbor bacteria or othermicro-organisms. According to an exemplary embodiment, the heatingelements described herein may be operable to heat thethermally-conductive portions of such components to an elevatedtemperature sufficient to kill or otherwise dispose of such undesiredorganisms.

According to one embodiment, a flow control valve (i.e., a valve thatreceives only a single source of fluid, such as a valve for use in aninstantaneous hot water spout) includes an electrical heating deviceprovided adjacent or in contact with the flow control valve to heat allor a portion of the flow control valve. It should be noted that althoughthe present description references various components as being part ofwater delivery systems and components, it should be understood that theconcepts discussed herein may have utility in other types of fluiddelivery systems for fluids other than water.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a mixer valve (alternativelyreferred to as a mixing valve, and referring to a valve that receivesmultiple sources of fluid and provides a chamber for mixing the sourcesof fluid together) includes an electrical heating device providedadjacent or in contact with the valve to heat all or a portion of thevalve.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, a plumbing fitting or aplumbing fixture (e.g., a faucet, shower head, tub spout, or any othertype of water delivery source or component) includes an electricalheating device provided adjacent or in contact with the plumbing fixtureto heat all or a portion of the plumbing fixture. It should beunderstood that the plumbing fitting or fixture may include anassociated valve (e.g., a flow control valve, a mixer valve, etc.) thatmay include its own associated electrical heating device, may share theelectrical heating device with the one used for the plumbing fitting orfixture, or may not include an associated electrical heating device(e.g., the heat applied to the plumbing fitting or fixture may besufficient to heat the valve by conduction or convection, as in the casewhere both the valve and a portion of the plumbing fitting or fixtureare made from a thermally-conductive material such as a metal and thevalve and the portion of the plumbing fixture are in contact with eachother).

According to one exemplary embodiment, a combination ofthermally-conductive water contact parts of a valve, plumbing fitting,and/or plumbing fixture in conjunction with electrical heating is usedso that a controlled thermal disinfection can be carried out by heatingthe thermally-conductive water contact parts to a temperature sufficientto kill micro-organisms. Such thermal disinfection cycle may be carriedout at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined amount of timesufficient to kill or otherwise dispose of micro-organisms that may bepresent.

The water contact parts (i.e., those parts that come into contact withwater) may be made of thermally-conductive materials such as metals oralloys. According to an exemplary embodiment, the water contact partsmay be formed either entirely or in part of a material that includescopper, such as copper, copper alloys (e.g., brass, bronze, etc.), andother alloys or materials that include copper. One advantageous featureof using copper-containing materials is that such materials are known tohave good antimicrobial properties.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the valve, plumbing fixture,and/or the plumbing fitting may have waterways formed in a body ofthermally-conductive material (e.g., a metal or metal-containingmaterial, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the waterways may belined with thermally-conductive material.

The electrical heating may be provided by an electrical resistiveheating element. Such a heating element may be of the relatively lowpower variety, such as, for example up to 50 watts. According to anotherexemplary embodiment, the heating element may have a power of up to 25watts. According to yet another exemplary embodiment, the heatingelement may have a power of up to 10 watts. It may be that powerconsumption can be minimized by reducing the thermal mass of the part(s)to be heated and/or by insulating the part(s) to be heated from otherparts of the valve, fitting, or plumbing fixture in which the valve orfitting may be employed. According to other exemplary embodiments,heating elements other than electrical resistive heating elements thatmay be now known or developed in the future may be employed in thecontext of the concepts described herein, and such other types ofheating elements are intended to be within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the plumbing fitting may beconfigured to mix supplies of hot and cold water and provide a source ofblended water having a desired temperature for washing/showering. Forexample, the plumbing fitting may be a mixer valve.

According to yet another exemplary embodiment, a method of disinfectinga waterway in a valve, plumbing fitting, or plumbing fixture includesproviding waterways in thermally-conductive parts of the valve, plumbingfitting, or plumbing fixture and providing an electrical heating deviceto heat the thermally-conductive parts. Such method may further includeraising the temperature of the heating device to a predeterminedtemperature for a period of time sufficient to kill or otherwise disposeof micro-organisms that may be present.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a mixervalve 1 and FIG. 3 shows a plumbing fixture 3 employing the mixer valve1. In this embodiment, the plumbing fixture 3 is a faucet for deliveryof water to a washbasin or sink (not shown), although it should beunderstood by those reviewing the present application that such aconfiguration is not intended as limiting and, for example, the mixervalve 1 may be employed in other plumbing fixtures such as shower heads,bath spouts, or other water delivery components.

The mixer valve 1 includes a body 5 having inlets 7, 9 for connection tosupplies of hot and cold water and an outlet 11 for temperaturecontrolled water. The body 5 includes a center section 5 a and endsections 5 b, 5 c at opposite ends of the center section 5 a.

The inlets 7, 9 are provided in the center section 5 a and the outlet 11is provided in the end section 5 c. The sections 5 a, 5 b, 5 c are madeof a thermally-conductive material such as a metal or alloy, and,according to an exemplary embodiment, of a copper or copper alloymaterial such as brass. The sections 5 a, 5 b, 5 c are secured togetherin a fluid tight manner according to an exemplary embodiment.

Housed within the center section 5 a are two flow control valves 13 (ofwhich only one is shown FIGS. 2 and 3). Each flow control valve 13communicates with a respective inlet 7, 9 and is operable to provide aflow of water to a mixing chamber 15 within the center section 5 a thatcommunicates with the outlet 11 in the end section 5 c.

Each flow control valve 13 is operable to adjust the flow of wateradmitted to the mixing chamber 15 from zero flow (valve closed) tomaximum flow (valve fully open). In this embodiment, each flow controlvalve 13 is controlled by a motor 17, 19 such as a stepper motor mountedon the end section 5 c of the valve body 5. The motors 17, 19 areoperable to move each fluid control valve in a linear fashion so as toopen or close the valve.

The flow of each of the hot and cold water admitted to the mixingchamber 15 may be infinitely variable throughout the range from zeroflow to maximum flow to provide a desired outlet water temperature andflow rate.

The motors 17, 19 may be controlled by an electronic controller such asa microprocessor which may be provided by a control panel 21 such as aprinted circuit board (see FIG. 3) incorporated into the plumbingfixture 3. In this embodiment, the plumbing fixture 3 has a body 23 witha recessed area in the base in which the mixer valve 1 and control panel21 are received and the outlet 11 from the mixer valve 1 opens to aninternal passageway 25 that extends within the body 23 to an outlet 27.

The controller may receive an input of desired outlet water temperaturefrom a user interface (not shown) on or in the vicinity of the plumbingfixture 3 and an input of the actual outlet water temperature from asensor 29 arranged in the outlet 11 of the mixer valve 1 to monitor theoutlet water temperature flowing through the passageway 25 to the outlet27 of the plumbing fixture 3. The motors 17, 19 may be controlled by thecontroller in response to the inputs to adjust the flow control valves13 to achieve and maintain the desired outlet water temperature.

The controller may also receive an input of desired outlet water flowrate from the user interface and an input of the actual outlet waterflow rate from a sensor (not shown) arranged to monitor the outlet waterflow rate in the passageway 25. The motors 17, 19 may be controlled bythe controller in response to the inputs to adjust the flow controlvalves 13 to achieve and maintain the desired outlet water flow rate.

By employing separate motors 17, 19 to control the flow control valves13, the outlet water temperature and/or flow rate may be adjustedindependently or in combination by appropriate control of each flowcontrol valve 13 to provide any desired outlet water temperature and/orflow rate.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the plumbing fixture 3 is providedwith a liner 31 that lines the passageway 25 and is made ofthermally-conductive material, preferably a metal or alloy, especiallycopper or copper alloys such as brass similar to the body 5 of the mixervalve 1.

The liner 31 may be inserted into the body 23, for example via therecessed area prior to inserting the mixer valve 1 so that one end ofthe liner 31 seats against the body 5 of the mixer valve 1 and theoutlet 11 of the mixer valve 1 seats against the other end of the liner31 with appropriate seals such as O-rings (not shown) being providedbetween the adjacent faces to prevent leakage of water.

With this arrangement virtually all water contact surfaces of the mixervalve 1 and the plumbing fixture 3 are made of metal or alloy, inparticular brass. The use of metals or alloys, especially brass can bebeneficial in helping to control the growth of bacteria within thewaterways of the mixer valve 1 and the plumbing fixture 3. Thus,bio-films form more readily on plastics than metal or alloy and bacteriaare killed by contact with certain metals or alloys, especially metalsor alloys containing copper such as brass.

However, the use of brass for the internal surface of the waterways maynot prevent the growth of bacteria and other potentially harmfulmicro-organisms that may be discharged with the water flow from theplumbing fixture and present a health hazard to humans.

To further reduce and possibly eliminate the presence of bacteria andmicro-organisms within the mixer valve 1 and plumbing fixture 3, it ispreferred to carry out a thermal disinfection routine to kill anybacteria or micro-organisms within the waterways of the mixer valve 1and plumbing fixture 3.

Thus, the mixer valve 1 is provided with an electrical heating elementor heater 33 potted into a through bore 35 in the body 5 usingthermally-conductive adhesive 37. The heater 33 may be in the form of aresistive wire heater and may be of low power, for example approximately10 watts.

The body 23 may be made of thermally-insulating material, whichadvantageously may allow the thermal heating of the fluid to use lesspower and to provide a relatively cool outer surface for the spout.

The plumbing fixture 3 is also provided with an electrical heater 39disposed on the outside of the liner 31. The heater 39 may be in theform of a resistive wire heater coil and may be of low power similar tothe heater 33.

The electrical heaters 33 and 39 are sized and located to provide a heatsource that is capable of elevating the temperature of the body 5 of themixer valve 1 and body 23/liner 31 of the plumbing fixture 3 togetherwith internal wetted surfaces and retained water to a temperature inexcess of 60° C. for carrying out a thermal disinfection routine.

The electrical heaters 33, 39 may be controlled by the electroniccontroller that controls the motors 17, 19. The controller may receivefeedback on the heating levels within the body 5 of the mixer valve 1and the body 23/liner 31 of the plumbing fixture 3 via an input of thetemperature from the temperature sensor 29 used to monitor outlet watertemperature. According to another exemplary embodiment, a separatetemperature sensor may be employed for the disinfection routine.According to another exemplary embodiment, more than one temperaturesensor may be provided for monitoring and providing feedback of heatinglevels at different positions during the thermal disinfection cycle.

Monitoring the heating levels during the disinfection routine enablesthe disinfection routine to be fully managed to be safe. The temperaturecan be controlled to achieve and maintain an appropriate elevatedtemperature for a suitable period of time for effective disinfection ofthe waterways. Details of the temperature, time and date can be recordedand stored by the controller for recall later to check and confirmdisinfection has been carried out properly.

The controller may be programmed to schedule disinfection routines atregular intervals and may initiate disinfection cycles for any time thatis convenient, for example overnight when the plumbing fixture 3 may notbe used. The disinfection routines may be initiated automatically.Alternatively, the controller may receive an input to initiate thedisinfection routine. The input may be provided through the userinterface. Alternatively, the input may be provided via a separatecontrol to reduce the risk of inadvertent triggering of a disinfectionroutine.

By using electrical heaters 33, 39 to heat the body 5 of the mixer valve1 and the body 23/liner 31 of the plumbing fixture 3, the temperaturecan be held at levels much higher than is normally achieved within hotwater systems and so can be far more effective at eradicatingmicro-organisms compared to a disinfection routine that employs heatingthe body 5 of the valve 1 and the body 23/liner 31 of the plumbingfixture 3 with hot water.

Use of the mixer valve 1 can be disabled whilst a disinfection routineis taking place to prevent very hot water from being discharged, whichmight present a risk of scalding. The mixer valve 1 can be disabled fora period of time after the heating cycle has finished so as to allow thebody 5 of the mixer valve 1 and the body 23 of the plumbing fixture 3together with any water remaining in the waterways to cool down to asafe temperature for use of the mixer valve 1. This can be monitored bythe temperature sensor 29 to ensure safety is maintained.

It is envisaged that power consumption can be reduced or minimized andexcess heating of peripheral parts such as the control panel can bereduced or minimized by reducing the thermal mass of the part(s) to beheated and/or by insulating the outside of the valve body 5 and/or byinsulating between the heater 39 and the outside surfaces of theplumbing fixture 3. FIG. 3 shows, for example, a layer of insulation 41surrounding the heater 39.

The use of electrical heating to carry out the disinfection routine hasa number of advantages over and above the current common practice ofusing hot water to thermally disinfect mixer valves and taps. Forexample, the use of electric heating elements allows the disinfectionroutine to be accomplished without the use of hot water, which reducesor eliminates the risk of scalding. It also eliminates the need to worryabout maintaining high (above 60° C.) hot water temperatures, and alsoeliminates concerns over generating excessive amount of steam and waterflow/water noise that may disturb room occupants, for example inhospital wards or other populated environments. Both hot and cold watersupply areas may be simultaneously disinfected using the electricheating elements, so that all water-contacting areas of the componentsare disinfected.

Although the plumbing fitting described in the present application hasbeen described as an electronically controlled mixer valve, according toother exemplary embodiments, it would be possible to apply the sameprinciples to non-electronic mixer valves.

Although the plumbing fixture described herein has a liner of brass, theuse of such a liner and/or material may not be essential. Thus, theliner may be omitted and the body of the plumbing fixture may be made ofbrass or another copper-containing material (or, as the case may be,other types of metals or thermally-conductive materials). In this form,the heating element may be built into the body similar to the heatingelement built into the body of the mixer valve. FIG. 4 shows the heatingelement 39 located in a channel 43 in the body 23 of the plumbingfixture.

Although the plumbing fixture described herein has a body made of metalor alloy, this may not be essential. Thus, the body of the plumbingfixture may be made of a material having a low thermal conductivitycompared to the liner and the body of the mixer valve, for examplecertain plastics materials capable of withstanding the heat generatedduring the thermal disinfection routine.

Although the plumbing fixture described herein includes a plumbingfitting, this may not be essential. Thus, the plumbing fixture may havewaterway(s) to receive water from a separate plumbing fitting with aheating device to disinfect the waterway(s).

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another exemplary embodiment of a mixervalve 50 employing a heating element such as that described herein. Themixer valve 50 is enclosed within a valve housing 52. An aperture 53 inthe housing 52 forms a first fluid inlet 54 for receiving a first fluid(cold water in this embodiment). Similarly, as shown in FIG. 2, thehousing 52 includes a further aperture 55 similar to the aperture 53 inthe opposite side that forms a second fluid inlet 56 for receiving asecond fluid (hot water in this embodiment) and a still further aperture57 in an end thereof that forms a fluid outlet for outputting the firstfluid or the second fluid or a mixture thereof. In contrast to the mixervalve 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, the inlets 54, 56 are not on the sameface of the mixer valve 3 but are rather on opposed sides of the mixervalve 3.

As with the mixer valve 1 illustrated in FIG. 1, the mixer valve 50 isprovided with an electrical heating element or heater 63 potted into athrough bore 65 in the body 52 using a thermally-conductive adhesive(not shown, but similar to adhesive 37 illustrated in FIG. 2).

It should be understood that whether a mixer valve such as mixer valve 1or mixer valve 50 is used may depend on various considerations such asthe geometry of the component into which the mixer valve will beinstalled, the available space for routing fluid delivery tubes or hosesto the mixer valve, and other considerations as will be understood tothose reviewing this disclosure.

It should also be noted that while mixer valves 1 and 50 are describedas having an opening formed in the housing thereof through which aheating element (e.g., 33, 63) passes, other configurations may bepossible according to other exemplary embodiments. For example, theheating element may be provided adjacent or in contact with an outersurface of the housing of the valve. In one example, the heating elementmay be provided in another component that is coupled to or in contactwith an outer surface of the valve housing (e.g., a thermally-conductivecomponent that is configured to transfer heat from the heating elementto the valve body). The separate component may have a geometry that isthe same as or that differs from the portion though which the heatingelement extends as shown in FIG. 1.

The particular location of the heating element relative to the rest ofthe valve body may differ as well. For example, while illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 5 as being provided adjacent the large face of the valve, aheating element may be provided adjacent one of the other sides of thevalve. Additionally, while only one heating element has been shown foreach of these valves, according to other exemplary embodiments, morethan one heating element may be used (e.g., one on each side of thevalve).

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, an embodiment of a plumbing fittingcomprising a fluid delivery device such as a shower head 70incorporating a mixer valve (such as mixer valve 1 shown in FIG. 1) isshown. The mixer valve 1 is similar to previous embodiments and likereference numerals are used to indicate corresponding parts.

The shower head 70 comprises a moveable handset and includes a stem 71that can be inserted into a shower head dock within a shower enclosure(not shown). The shower head 70 could alternatively be a fixed showerhead that is arranged to be fixed to and project from a wall.

The shower head 70 includes a spray head 73 that provides a plurality ofoutlets for discharge of water in use to provide a variety of differentspray patterns. In one arrangement, the spray head 73 has outlets inopposite sides and optionally on one or more side edges. The spray head73 can rotate within a substantially circular spray head mount 78 aboutdiametrically opposed pivots 79 to select an outlet for use.

According to other exemplary embodiments, other types of spray heads maybe used, including those that are configured to provide only a singlespray pattern and those that operate differently than the spray head 73shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 to provide multiple spray patterns.

The shower head stem 71 receives the mixer valve 1 together with thecontroller 75. The stem 71 includes two conduits—a cold water supplyconduit 74 and a hot water supply conduit (not visible). The cold waterconduit 74 connects to the first fluid inlet 4 and the hot water conduitconnects to the second fluid inlet (not shown) of the mixer valve 1. Thefluid outlet 8 of the mixer valve 1 is connected to the spray head 73 byan outlet conduit 76. The outlet conduit 76 extends through the sprayhead mount 78 and enters the spray head 73 through the pivots 79.

The controller 75 provides control signals to the mixer valve 1 forcontrolling the flow rate and temperature of the outlet water deliveredto the spray head 73 according to the user selection via an interface(not visible). The interface may be arranged on the stem 71 to allow auser to select the flow rate and temperature of the outlet water theywish. The interface may be a physical interface including one or morerotatable knobs or linear sliders or push buttons for selecting flowrate and/or temperature. Alternatively, the interface may be a virtualinterface that uses touch screen technology or the like. The interfacemay include a display for providing a visual indication of the flow rateand/or temperature. The display may be a digital display of numericalvalues and/or visual display such as an array of lights.

In other embodiments, the interface may be incorporated into a remotecontrol that communicates with the controller 75 via a wired or wirelesslink. Thus, if the shower head 70 is of fixed type, then the controller75 may receive control signals from an interface mounted remotely fromthe shower head 70.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, an embodiment of a plumbing fittingcomprising a fluid delivery device such as a faucet 80 incorporating amixer valve 1 having a heating element 33 is shown. The mixer valve 1 issimilar to previous embodiments and like reference numerals are used toindicate corresponding parts.

The faucet 80 may be in the form of a tap and includes a base 81 bywhich it is secured to a support surface such as a sink or worktop (suchas kitchen or bathroom worktop). The faucet 80 includes a perforatedplate 83 that provides an outlet for the water for use. The faucet 80receives the mixer valve 1 together with the controller (e.g., acontroller such as the controller 75 discussed above). The faucet 80 hasa stem portion (sometimes referred to as a “spout”) and two conduits—acold water supply conduit 84 and a hot water supply conduit 85. The coldwater conduit 84 connects to the first fluid inlet 4 and the hot watersupply connects to the second fluid inlet (not visible) of the mixervalve 1. The fluid outlet 8 of the mixer valve 1 is connected to theplate 83 by an outlet conduit 86.

The controller (not shown) provides control signals to the mixer valve 1for controlling the flow rate and temperature of the outlet waterdelivered to the plate 83 according to the user selection via aninterface 87 on the base 81 to allow a user to select the flow rate andtemperature they wish. The interface 87 includes a touch sensitive panel87 a for inputting settings and a display 89 b which shows the watertemperature. It will, be appreciated that the interface 87 can be of anysuitable form for receiving user inputs for controlling the mixer valve1. It should also be understood that similar types of user interfacesmay be employed either as part of or adjacent to other plumbing fixturesand fitting discussed herein (e.g., on or adjacent to a showerhead or astem thereof, on or adjacent to a tub spout, etc.).

Conventional faucets require a valve base that is secured to the supportsurface and the spout then extends from the valve base to channel thewater to where it needs to be dispensed. The present embodiment isadvantageous as the mixer valve, due to its ability to be miniaturized(i.e. reduced in size), can be incorporated into the spout without theneed for the valve base. Also the rectangular shape of the housing 2provides the designer with the opportunity to employ differentconfigurations for the stem portion (spout) of the faucet.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a system 100 that includes acontroller 110 for controlling a plurality of valves 120, 122, 124, and126. While four valves are illustrated in FIG. 10, it should be notedthat any number of valves can be connected to the controller 110, whichmay be located in the vicinity of or remote from one or more of thevalves.

The valves 120, 122, 124, and 126 may be provided as mixing valves or asflow control valves, and may each optionally include a heating elementsuch as the heating elements described herein. The valves 120, 122, 124,and 126 may be associated with a plumbing fixture or fitting, and may beprovided within the housing of the plumbing fixture or fitting (e.g.,within a handle, neck, or head of a shower head, within a spout orescutcheon of a faucet, within a tub spout, etc.) or may be separatetherefrom and in fluid communication therewith.

Each of the valves 120, 122, 124, and 126 may include one or moreassociated controllers 121, 123, 125, and 127 (e.g., similar to theelectronic controllers described above, which may include, for example,a microprocessor which may be provided by a control panel 21 such as aprinted circuit board (see, e.g., FIG. 3)). The controllers 120, 122,124, and 126 may be provided in close proximity or in contact with theassociated valve or may be provided in a location remote from the valve(e.g., in another portion of the plumbing fitting or fixture, in alocation outside of the plumbing fitting or fixture, etc.). The one ormore controllers 121, 123, 125, and 127 associated with each valve 120,122, 124, and 126 may be configured to operate motors associated withthe valves and/or may control heating elements (e.g., on/off,temperature, etc.) associated with each valve to allow a cleaning cycleto be run for the valve. In instances where a separate or common heatingelement is used elsewhere in an associated fixture or fitting (e.g., aswith a heater coupled to thermally-conductive water-contactingcomponents in the fixture of fitting), the controller 110 and/or thecontrollers 121, 123, 125, and 127, or a separate controller, may beoperable to turn the heating element on or off).

The one or more controllers 121, 123, 125, and 127 associated with eachof the valves 120, 122, 124, and 126 may include a clock function thatmay be, for instance, programmable such that the motors and/or heatingelements are turned on at predetermined intervals, at predeterminedtimes, at predetermined times after the valves were last used (e.g., 15minutes after a user takes a shower), or at any other desired time aswill be appreciated by those reviewing the present disclosure. The clockfunction may be incorporated into the controllers or may be provided bya separate component in communication with the valves, heating elements,and/or controllers. According to other exemplary embodiments, the timingof the motor or heating element may be controlled remotely, such as bythe controller 110. According to still other exemplary embodiments, thevalves, motors, heating elements, etc. may be controlled manually inplace of or in addition to the clock mechanisms (e.g., the valves may bescheduled to go through a heating cycle at 2 am, at 15 minutes after auser of the valve activates the valve, and a heating cycle may also betriggered manually either at the valve location or remotely, forexample, by using the controller 110).

The controller 110 may be configured to send signals to each of thecontrollers 121, 123, 125, and 127 121, 123, 125, and 127 to operate thevalves, the motors, and/or the heating elements. As mentioned above,according to another exemplary embodiment, the controller 110 may be indirect communication with the valves, the motors, and/or the heatingelements without the need for controllers associated with each of thevalves. The controller 110 may communicate with the controllers (ordirectly with the valves, motors, and/or heating elements) via a wiredor wireless communication method. For example, according to oneexemplary embodiment, each of the controllers, valves, and/or motors maybe in direct wired communication with a central controller 110 locatedremote from the various valves. In a specific example, a hospital,hotel, apartment complex, or other facility may have numerous valvesthroughout the building, and a central controller such as the controller110 may be used to control the manual and/or timed actuation and/or theheating/cleaning cycles for all or for a subset of the valves. Asmentioned above, the actuation of the valves may be accomplishedmanually and/or at scheduled times or time intervals, and may becontrolled by the central controller and/or the individual controllersassociated with each of the valves.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram illustrating a method 100 forperforming a heating/cleaning cycle for a valve such as the valvesdescribed herein. In a first step 110, it is determined whether acleaning cycle is necessary. Such determination may be made, forexample, as part of a predetermined schedule or program (e.g., at presettimes, at preset timing intervals, at some preset time after the valveis used, etc.), and may be determined either at controllers associatedwith each valve or may be determined at a central controller associatedwith a plurality of valves.

After it is determined that a heating/cleaning cycle is necessary, theheating/cleaning cycle is initiated in a step 220. The heating/cleaningcycle may involve, for example in a step 230, heating the heatingelement associated with the valve (and/or the fixture or fitting withwhich the valve is associated) to a desired temperature and holding itat that temperature for a desired amount of time or cycling thetemperature between more than one temperature, ideally attemperatures/times sufficient to disinfect the water-contacting parts ofthe valve (and/or the fixture or fitting), such as to killmicro-organisms that may be present.

In addition to the heating component of the heating/cleaning cycle, thevalves may optionally be operated to allow water to flow through thepassageways of the valve and the associated fittings/fixtures so as toallow purging of materials or organisms that may be present. Thisactuation of the valves to allow water flow may also be directed by thecontrollers associated with the valve or by a remote controller incommunication with the valve or associated controller, motor(s), etc.

Once the heating/cleaning cycle is completed, the cycle is terminated ina step 240. The termination may occur after a predetermined time, aftera predetermined time at which the heating element and/or valve are at adesired temperature, or any other point at which it is desired to stopthe heating/cleaning cycle.

It is also possible to manually perform a heating/cleaning cycle, eitherby initiating the heating/cleaning remotely (as from the controller 110)or by directly inputting a desired command at the location of the valve.For example, where the faucet includes a switch or user interfaceconfigured to allow the initiation of a cleaning cycle, a cycle at apredetermined time/temperature may be performed upon such initiation.

The control functions of the various controllers described herein can beimplemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software,firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in thisspecification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations ofone or more of them. The controls can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on one or more computer storage medium forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus,such as a processing circuit. A processing circuit such as a CPU, forexample, may comprise any digital and/or analog circuit componentsconfigured to perform the functions described herein, such as amicroprocessor, microcontroller, application-specific integratedcircuit, programmable logic, etc. Alternatively or in addition, theprogram instructions can be encoded on an artificially-generatedpropagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, orelectromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information fortransmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a dataprocessing apparatus.

A computer storage medium can be, or be included in, a computer-readablestorage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random orserial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more ofthem. Moreover, while a computer storage medium is not a propagatedsignal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination ofcomputer program instructions encoded in an artificially-generatedpropagated signal. The computer storage medium can also be, or beincluded in, one or more separate components or media (e.g., multipleCDs, disks, or other storage devices). Accordingly, the computer storagemedium is both tangible and non-transitory.

The controls described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources. The term “data processing apparatus” or “computing device”encompasses all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processingdata, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer,a system on a chip, or multiple ones, or combinations, of the foregoingThe apparatus can include special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA(field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specificintegrated circuit). The apparatus can also include, in addition tohardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computerprogram in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, aprotocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, across-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combinationof one or more of them. The apparatus and execution environment canrealize various different computing model infrastructures, such as webservices, distributed computing and grid computing infrastructures.External controllers discussed herein (such as controller 110) may bepart of a larger building management system (BMS) that may controlvarious features within a building, which may advantageously providecentralized control not only, for example, for the disinfectingroutines, but also for other features such as lighting, airconditioning, and the like.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of the controls described hereinmay include, by way of example, both general and special purposemicroprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digitalcomputer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data froma read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essentialelements of a computer are a processor for performing actions inaccordance with instructions and one or more memory devices for storinginstructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or beoperatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both,one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic,magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computer need nothave such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded in anotherdevice, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), amobile audio or video player, a game console, a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a universalserial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few. Devices suitable forstoring computer program instructions and data include all forms ofnon-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the controlprograms can be implemented on a computer having a display device, e.g.,a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor, fordisplaying information to the user and a keyboard and an I/O device,e.g., a mouse or a touch sensitive screen, by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Inaddition, a computer can interact with a user by sending documents toand receiving documents from a device that is used by the user; forexample, by sending web pages to a web browser on a user's client devicein response to requests received from the web browser.

Embodiments of the control program described in this specification canbe implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

As utilized herein, the terms “approximately,” “about,” “around,”“substantially,” and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaningin harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skillin the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. Itshould be understood by those of skill in the art who review thisdisclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description ofcertain features described and claimed without restricting the scope ofthese features to the precise numerical ranges provided. Accordingly,these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial orinconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matterdescribed and claimed are considered to be within the scope of theinvention as recited in the appended claims.

It should be noted that the term “exemplary” as used herein to describevarious embodiments is intended to indicate that such embodiments arepossible examples, representations, and/or illustrations of possibleembodiments (and such term is not intended to connote that suchembodiments are necessarily extraordinary or superlative examples).

The terms “coupled,” “connected,” and the like as used herein mean thejoining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Suchjoining may be stationary (e.g., permanent) or moveable (e.g., removableor releasable). Such joining may be achieved with the two members or thetwo members and any additional intermediate members being integrallyformed as a single unitary body with one another or with the two membersor the two members and any additional intermediate members beingattached to one another.

References herein to the positions of elements (e.g., “top,” “bottom,”“above,” “below,” etc.) are merely used to describe the orientation ofvarious elements in the FIGURES. It should be noted that the orientationof various elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments,and that such variations are intended to be encompassed by the presentdisclosure.

It is important to note that the construction and arrangement of themixer valves and related assemblies as shown in the various exemplaryembodiments is illustrative only. Although only a few embodiments havebeen described in detail in this disclosure, those skilled in the artwho review this disclosure will readily appreciate that manymodifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes, dimensions,structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements, values ofparameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors,orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novelteachings and advantages of the subject matter described herein. Forexample, elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed ofmultiple parts or elements, the position of elements may be reversed orotherwise varied, and the nature or number of discrete elements orpositions may be altered or varied. The order or sequence of any processor method steps may be varied or re-sequenced according to alternativeembodiments.

Features of any of the embodiments may be employed separately or incombination with any other feature(s) of the same or differentembodiments and the disclosure extends to and includes all sucharrangements whether or not described herein.

Other substitutions, modifications, changes and omissions may also bemade in the design, operating conditions and arrangement of the variousexemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the inventionsdescribed herein. Other modifications that can be made will be apparentto those skilled in the art and the invention extends to and includesall such modifications. Any of the features described herein may beemployed separately or in combination with any other feature and theinvention extends to and includes any such feature or combination offeatures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of performing a cleaning cycle for awater supply system for washing, showering, or bathing, the water supplysystem having a valve for controlling the flow of water therethrough,the method comprising: determining in a central controller whether thecleaning cycle is necessary, wherein the central controller is locatedremotely from the water supply system; and when cleaning is necessary,sending a signal from the central controller to a local controllerlocated within the water supply system to activate a heating elementwithin the water supply system to heat an internal waterway of the watersupply system to a temperature configured to clean the internalwaterway; wherein the local controller can determine whether thecleaning cycle is necessary and activate the heating element to heat theinternal waterway of the water supply system independently of thecentral controller.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:monitoring a heating level in the internal waterway during the cleaningcycle using a sensor; and providing feedback from the sensor to thelocal controller regarding the heating level.
 3. The method of claim 2,further comprising deactivating the heating element once the heatinglevel reaches the temperature.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thelocal controller prevents the valve from being opened until the heatinglevel reaches a safe operating temperature.
 5. The method of claim 2,further comprising deactivating the heating element after the heatinglevel reaches the temperature for a period of time.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the central controller is programmable andreprogrammable through a user interface to vary the schedule of thecleaning cycles.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the heating elementis located in a body of the valve and the internal waterway is part ofthe valve, and wherein the local controller is coupled to the body ofthe valve.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein a body of the valve has athermal mass that allows the heating element to heat the internalwaterway of the water supply system to the temperature using no morethan 50 watts.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the heating element islocated in a body of the water supply system that is located outside ofthe valve between the valve and an outlet of the water delivery device.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing a plurality ofwater supply systems with each water supply system having a localcontroller located within the associated water supply system, a heatingelement located therein, and an internal waterway located therein;determining in the central controller whether a cleaning cycle isnecessary in each of the plurality of water supply systems, wherein thecentral controller is located remotely from each water supply system ofthe plurality of water supply systems; and upon determining that acleaning is necessary, sending a signal from the central controller tothe local controller of each water supply system to be cleaned toactivate the associated heating element to heat the associated internalwaterway to the temperature.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thewater supply system includes a user interface that is separate from thecentral controller and is configured to activate the heating element toclean the internal waterway to an input temperature for an input periodof time.
 12. A method of performing a cleaning cycle for a water supplysystem for washing, showering, or bathing, the water supply systemhaving a valve for controlling the flow of water therethrough, themethod comprising: using a controller to determine whether the cleaningcycle is necessary, wherein the controller is associated with the watersupply system; using the controller to activate a heating element withinthe water supply system for a time to heat a water contacting surfacewithin the water supply system to a temperature configured to clean thewater contacting surface after determining that a cleaning is necessary;and using the controller to prevent the valve of the water supply systemfrom being opened during the time that the heating element is activated.13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: monitoring a heatinglevel of the water contacting surface during the cleaning cycle using asensor; and providing feedback from the sensor to the controllerregarding the heating level.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein thecontroller disables the valve for a period of time after the heatingelement has been deactivated to allow the water contacting surface tocool down to a safe temperature for use.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein the water supply system is selected from the group consisting ofa faucet, a shower head, a plumbing fitting, a plumbing fixture, a watertap, and a tub spout.
 16. A method of performing a cleaning cycle for awater supply system for washing, showering, or bathing, the water supplysystem having a valve for controlling the flow of water therethrough,the method comprising: activating a heating element within the watersupply system to heat a water contacting surface within the water supplysystem to a temperature configured to clean the water contactingsurface; deactivating the heating element; and preventing the valve frombeing opened for a period of time after deactivating the heating elementto allow the water contacting surface to cool down to a safe temperaturefor use.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the temperature of thewater contacting surface is monitored using a temperature sensor. 18.The method of claim 17, further comprising determining in a controllerwhether the cleaning cycle is necessary, wherein the controller isassociated with the water supply system and upon a determination thatcleaning is necessary, the controller activates the heating element, andwherein the controller disables the valve for the period of time afterdeactivating the heating element.
 19. The method of claim 18, whereinthe controller communicates with the temperature sensor andenables/disables the valve based on the temperature of the watercontacting surface.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein the water supplysystem includes a user interface that is configured to activate theheating element to clean the internal waterway to an input temperaturefor an input period of time.